AHA convenes Capitol Hill forum on rural hospital priorities

AHA NewsJul 20, 2017

Rural hospital and health system leaders today received an update on their legislative and policy priorities at an AHA Rural Hospital Policy Forum before meeting with their representatives on Capitol Hill.

Grassley also noted the importance of the 340B Drug Pricing Program, which helps safety-net hospitals reduce the price of outpatient pharmaceuticals for patients and expand health services to patients and the communities they serve. (The hospital outpatient prospective payment system proposed rule for calendar year 2018 would drastically cut Medicare payment for drugs acquired under the program.)

Another speaker at the meeting, Health Resources and Services Administration Administrator George Sigounas called the 340B program “an important asset for rural hospitals” and telehealth “a critical tool in access to care,” noting that “many rural hospitals are struggling.”